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Sweepstakes Tips for Sweepers
Here is a recap of the sweepstakes tips we have
learned. These sweepstakes tips may not all be new, but they are
the most important "rules" or "tricks" of the trade.
1. Follow the rules.
It cannot be stressed enought that it is important to follow the
official rules for the sweepstakes you are entering. If you enter
multiple times in a one-time entry sweepstakes, or if you enter
using multiple email addresses, you will likely be disqualified.
Database "scrubs" are usually performed both before a drawing (to
remove entrants who are not eligible, such as company employees
and their families) and afterwards, to check if the winner followed
the rules. In most drawings, alternates are chosen in case the winner
is disqualified.
2. Enter as often as you
can. If a sweepstakes allows you to enter every day, then
by all means, you should enter every day! Each time you enter, you
are drastically increasing your odds of winning! Think about this:
If 10 people enter a sweepstakes once and you enter 10 times, you
have increased your odds of winning from 1:11 to 1:2 - you now have
a 50% chance of winning!
3. Bigger is not always
better. Many people enter contests giving away cash, cars,
and trips, while passing on the ones with smaller prizes. Since
these smaller sweepstakes will likely have less entries, the odds
of winning are usually much greater. Also, sweepstakes that have
lots of restrictions will generally receive less entries. For example,
if a sweepstakes is only open to households with children under
a certain age, you should enter that more often than sweepstakes
that are open to everyone. This should increase your odds of winning
drastically.
4. The first drawing usually
has the best odds. Many sweepstakes with weekly or monthly
drawings gain momentum as the weeks or months pass. Often, during
the first week or month of a sweepstakes, there hasn't been a large
media push and there are generally not a lot of entrants. Also,
the first few weeks will have less entrants because many of these
sweepstakes have rolling entries, which means that all entrants
that are not chosen will be included in the subsequent weeks/months
of the sweepstakes.
5. Tell your friends. If a sweepstakes
offers you additional entries for telling your friends, then you
should tell everyone you know! If you are going to take the trouble
to enter a sweepstakes in the first place, you certainly should
go the extra mile to get your "free" or bonus entries! Some sweepstakes
make it a little more difficult by requiring your friends to enter
before awarding your sweepstakes entry. If you really want the
prize, send your friend a personal email and ask them to enter.
6. Check your email. You would be surprised how many potential sweepstakes winners
are disqualified because they never answer their winning confirmation
email. This is probably because many sweepers are barraged with
junk mail and may delete or leave the winning confirmation email
unopened.
7. Avoid giving out sensitive
information. The purpose of many sweepstakes and other contests
is to enable the sponsor to gather demographic and other marketing
data from consumers. However, most legitimate contests will not
ask you to provide sensitive information such as your SSN or your
mother's maiden name. Be very wary of sweepstakes which require
you to provide your personal information.
8. Do not cheat.
Many people are tempted to "cheat" when entering sweepstakes. They
may use multiple email addresses or enter pretend family members.
The independent judging companies that conduct the drawings are
aware of these tactics and will generally disqualify entrants who
are suspected of cheating.
9. You can still enter
the old fashioned way. Many sweepstakes allow write-in entries
as well as Internet entries. Read the rules of the particular sweepstakes
to find additional means of entry. However, if the sweepstakes only
allows you to enter by one method or the other, save the stamp and
enter over the Internet.
10. Join a club. Join a sweepstakes
club and swap sweepstakes links, coupons and other free stuff
with your friends. This way, you will collectively cover a much
greater "territory".
Just remember -- while you won't win every sweepstakes you enter,
if you follow these tips and enter consistently, you will greatly
increase your odds of winning. Good luck!
Sweepstakes Tips for Sponsors
Here is our advice for sweepstakes sponsors based
on our research and feedback from our members:
1. Don't be nosy. In
a study conducted by MarketingSherpa and Intermarket Group, "The
E-Mail Marketer's Guide: Hard Data for 2002", they found that
on registration forms for a free white paper offer for a pre-qualified
group, the registration form requesting contact info plus one optional
question garnered a 74.6 percent response while a nearly identical
form asked for the same things, but with THREE optional questions
only received a 50 percent response. Their conclusion? The less
you ask, the more you get.
2. Offer something of value
and do not spam! When consumers were asked by Jupiter Media
Metrix what a Web site could promise in exchange for typing in their
personal information, 48 percent wanted a chance to win a prize
in a sweepstakes. About 31 percent wanted frequent-flier miles or
a similar affinity program. But most important, 73 percent wanted
a guarantee that the information would not be misused.
3. KISS. "Keep
It Simple (Stupid)". In an attempt to make sweepstakes more
"fun" or "interactive", consumers are often
forced to jump hoops in order to gain an entry. Unless this really
adds some sort of real value for your company or your product, don't
do it.
4. NO SPAM. Worth
repeating again, this seems to be the biggest complaint among people
who enjoy entering sweepstakes. Only email to consumers who opt-in
for your product or service and then only occasionally and only
with bona fide offers; do not sell or misuse the list; and, offer
an unsubscribe link.
5. Keep it legit.
It is perfectly acceptable for a small "mom & pop shop"
to sponsor a sweepstakes and offer their own products as prizes;
however, unless you understand that there are certain "rules"
you need to play by, you could end up with an illegal sweepstakes.
All sweepstakes should be accompanied by "official contest
rules" which are clear and unambiguous. When you are drafting
the rules for the sweepstakes be sure to include every detail about
the sweepstakes. When you write the official rules you are basically
creating a contract with the consumer. You do not want to misrepresent
what you are actually doing so you have to make sure that your rules
are clear and very clearly stated and that you avoid as much consumer
confusion as possible by supplying clear and adequate instructions.
Items you should always cover in the official sweepstakes rules:
- No purchase necessary.
- The dates when the sweepstakes begins and ends.
- Eligibility and Disqualification. Describe who is not eligible
to participate. Be very specific about who is eligible to enter
the sweepstakes. Is the sweepstakes limited to U.S residents only,
are there certain states which it is not available? Are employees
(and their families), affiliates disqualified? Is there a minimum
age requirement to enter?
- Frequency of entry. Describe how often a person can enter the
sweepstakes. Is the sweepstakes limited to one entry per person
(per day) or email address?
- Discuss the consequences of tampering. If people try to automate
their entries and fill in thousands of entries, will they be disqualified?
- Spell out the fact that you are not responsible for issues that
are out of your control. If your server or ISP goes down, you
are not responsible for these things.
- Indicate where the entry form can be found.
- Alternate means of entry. Identify the specific rules and instructions
on how to enter the sweepstakes for alternative mail-in (proxy)
entries.
- Disclose the odds of winning. Include a statement hat the odds
depend on the odds of the number of entries received if it's a
random draw.
- Describe the prizes and their retail value. Avoid trademark
infringements but describe what the prize is, the value and if
there is an available cash substitute.
- Provide information on when and how prizes will be awarded.
- Describe what happens when a prize is not claimed.
- Will the winner(s) name will be announced on website? If not,
how can a winner's list be obtained?
- Notification of winners. Indicate how winners will be notified
and if the winner will be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility
and a liability/publicity release which releases sponsors from
liability in connection with the winner's use of any prize and
permits the sponsors to use the winner's name to promote the contest
where permitted by law.
- Describe if the value of prizes will be taxable as income.
- Will all prizes will be awarded? Are prizes transferable? Can
a prize be substituted or is a cash equivalent offered?
- List all sponsors that are involved in the promotion.
- What is the deadline date for all received entries.
If you change the rules halfway through the promotion, then you
are basically breaking the contract with the consumer. Special care
should be taken that advertising of the promotion is consistent
with the rules. When in doubt, consult with your lawyer.
Click here to download
a template for sweepstakes rules.
Click here to find out how The Sweepstakes
Wire can help you sponsor a sweepstakes.
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